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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28255191">Devil Take the Hindmost</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamTears/pseuds/MadamTears'>MadamTears</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mcyt musical song bank [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family Dynamics, Gen, Mentions of Abusive Relationships, Nightmare is the dreamon, Philza being a dad, but it isn’t anything romantic, dream being a mess, phil explains it better, technoblade being an older brother, title from Love Never Dies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,607</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28255191</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamTears/pseuds/MadamTears</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dream reflects and yearns. Phil comforts and makes promises. Technoblade does his best.</p><p>Nightmare lingers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream &amp; Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mcyt musical song bank [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>587</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Devil Take the Hindmost</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WHAAAAAAT? Two fics in one 24 hour period?! That’s POGCHAMP!</p><p>Fair TW for this fic: this fic deals with the topic of abusive relationships, specifically the psychological aftermath.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dream spent the next few hours of that day in his room with Patches resting on the foot of his bed. He was curled up at the center, green eyes focused on the window at the snowflakes that fell from the sky. He was dealing with a splitting headache, possibly from Nightmare trying to force itself back into his mind. It hurts, because he had thought that since it was stored in the prison, that it would not harm him. Oh how wrong he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment he set foot in Greater SMP again, there was this soft ringing in his ears, but it wasn’t all that distracting. Dream ruled it out as it being a side effect of travelling via nether portal after a long time. However the closer he got to L’Manburg, the louder the ringing got and the heavier his soul became. The little time spent in the Greater SMP had exhausted Dream to the point of holding himself in his room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His sweater had been discarded, being only in his long sleeve light blue undershirt and navy blue pants. Patches’s purring helped calm Dream down significantly, but his mind can’t help but wander to the prison </span>
  <span>he </span>
  <span>Nightmare commissioned Sam to do. It was poetic how something that Nightmare had commissioned was now concealing the being itself. But Dream knew. He knew that the prison will not keep Nightmare away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While he has told himself countless of times, repeated it, made it a mantra, that he was glad Punz took the enchanted Netherite axe and had it locked up but the truth is, he fucking misses Nightmare. Dream shouldn’t, because that relationship in itself was toxic and abusive, it was a parasitic relationship, not a beneficial one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream had thought back to the conversation he had with Phil earlier that day after they had returned from L’Manburg:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I miss it….” Dream’s voice cracked slightly. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Phil’s face was riddled with concern, and he laid a hand on Dream’s back. “No you don’t Dream. It was completely taking away your free will. Your friends!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Phil,” Dream whined and looked at the older blonde with glossy eyes. “Phil, it doesn’t make sense. I should be angry with it. I should be finding ways to destroy the axe. It cause so much physical and emotional pain, so much psychological damage, I SHOULD be seething at the thought of it but then I think about how even when I thought I was alone, I wasn’t truly alone. I was with Nightmare. It kept me company when I was alone. It was warm when it needed to be.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck, Phil, I’m so fucked up, I’m missing the thing that caused me the most pain.” Dream looked away from Phil, focusing his gaze on the fireplace in front of him. “It made me inhuman.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Phil had not once looked away from Dream. He stared at the boy who seemed to be smaller, and the sadness in his face made him look younger. “Dream, to me this sounds like an abusive relationship. Obviously, you two were not a thing, you were the same body, but both of you are separate entities. When you’ve been with someone for so long, and they’ve torn down your confidence and psyche, you start to think that’s a normal feeling. That you think that’s the only reaction to certain things. And the moment you are separated from that person, from the torment, you start to miss it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dream you’ve become so used to abuse and negative responses that you need it to validate your existence but in reality, Dream, you need out of this. And I’m going to help you, as well as Tommy, and even Wilb- Ghostbur. Not so much Techno, but you will not be alone.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream looked at Phil again, his holding a hopeful looked this time. “Really?” He asked softly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course bud. I will not let you suffer.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a tender moment, and Dream hadn’t felt that way in a long long time, since Nightmare’s conception actually. It felt weird to Dream, not having affection for so long that it feels so foreign. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He liked it, yes, but he also wanted the mock validation that Nightmare would whisper to him brought him the strange comfort. He hated it. But he wanted it back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As night fell on the server, and the whole household was getting read for bed, Dream rolled out of bed, grabbed his sweater and put his boots on. Patches had woken up and meowed softly, drawing a little scratch on the head from Dream. Content, the cat went back to sleep, and Dream had taken some torches into his inventory and he left the house quietly. He had taken one torch out and began to walk towards Logstedshire where the portal to the Greater SMP lies. Dream went through the portal and started down the nether path to the other, feeling the humming begin again. With everyone asleep, it made it easier for Dream to walk down the Prime path to the direction of the inescapable prison. Nightmare had made sure that Sam made Dream a guard for the prison, giving him the luxury of stepping into the prison whenever he wants. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The humming and ringing came louder and stronger, the call for Dream that was once a whisper now a yell. The admin walked over to the cell that contained a Shulker chest, opening it up and seeing only Nightmare, glimmering in the dark of the chest. Dream ran his fingers over the hilt of the netherite axe before he grasped it, lifting it out of the shulker box. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Purple once again bleeds into green eyes, and the whispers begin again. He was told he was good for retrieving it, he was told that he was great for sneaking into the prison. Dream felt whole again, but not in the best way. He closed his purple eyes and leaned his forehead against the cold blade, listening to the whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tightened his grip on Nightmare and almost let out a choked sob when he felt a presence behind him. Eyes widening, Dream turned to look at the entrance of the cell, seeing the pig-hybrid he’s grown friendly with. “Tech-no?” He strained. “How did you get in here?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You like to leave doors open. I figured you were here for the axe. I was right and I’m going to ask you to let it go.” Techno said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream gripped onto Nightmare tightly and shook his head. “No…. no I’m not letting it go. Please Techno, I need this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you really don’t. What you need is as Phil says. You need to heal.” Techno began walking towards Dream. The younger took a step back, holding the axe close and tight. “Dream, it’ll be okay. Phil, Tommy, Ghostbur and I will help you.” The pig-hybrid tentatively placed a hand on the netherite axe. He shuddered at just how strong the aura of the axe was, confirming that there was something living in it. “Dream, we can help you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream looked at Techno with this haunted look in his netherite purple eyes. He looked down at Nightmare, who’s whispers became frantic as Dream’s grip became loose. Techno, so as to not startle the blonde, slowly pried Nightmare away from Dream’s hands. “You’ll be okay. We promise. You know I never go back on my word. Remember I owe you one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You owe me one.” Dream repeated numbly, fully letting go of the axe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno immediately took the axe and stored it back into the shulker box. “Come on. Phil will have a fit if he finds out where you went.” The pig-hybrid tugged on Dream’s sweater and dragged the blonde out of the prison. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until walking the Prime path back to the nether portals that the netherite purple hue in Dream’s eyes faded once more to an emerald green, thankfully for Techno. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The journey back to the Arctic empire was a quiet one, the wind gently whistling as both rivals walked to warm cabin that Techno, Phil, Tommy and Wilbur call home. Dream looked at the cabin, a certain warmth filling his heart in the same place that Nightmare once held.  He doesn’t know if it’s safe to call this cabin his home just yet, so in secret, this cabin is his home. Perhaps one day, when Dream is well recovered enough in mind and body, he could go back to the Greater SMP and build a home. Not a base but a home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thought of it made Dream smile softly, a wave of exhaustion hitting him. Technoblade lead Dream into the cabin and they were quiet as they moved into Dream’s room. The blonde man sheds his sweater, placing it on a chair and toed off his boots. Techno took Patches off the bed, earning him a disgruntled meow, but it was only brief as he pulled back the blanket from it’s tucked position. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream crawled into the bed and sighed when Patches was laid back in the bed. Techno turned to head out the door when Dream had called for him, “Techno.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno hummed in acknowledgement, crimson meeting emerald. “Yes?” He added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you… for pulling me out of the prison.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Techno’s face was neutral but he nodded. “Go to bed, Dream” and he left the room after putting out the single torch keeping the room lit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream looked at the door as it closed and he laid his head against the pillow, looking up at the dark ceiling. He smiled softly and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s found a family.</span>
  </em>
</p>
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